Im Joo Hwan Goes for Quirky Hipster in the June Edition of Sure Magazine

Is anyone watching the daily drama Ugly Alert? I never dive into dailies unless I hear its da bomb, and only then will I start the slog towards over a hundred episodes and months-long commitment. I confess that normally leading man Im Joo Hwan would be more than enough for me to at least check out a few episodes myself. But seeing his leading lady Kang Sora at the press conference with a brand new completely different face just freaked me out. She looks pretty, but she looks like nearly a different person. Which kinda defeats the purpose of being a recognizable face already when it gets tweaked to the point I have to get to know the real her again. So that was off-putting, but she’s a good actress so it’ll probably take me some time but I’ll get used to it eventually and shrug and move on. So is Ugly Alert any good? Or is it falling into the current The Best Lee Soon Shincategory of watching a boring drama just for a favorite leading man like Jo Jung Seok? I’m still plenty pleased Im Joo Hwan is back on the small screen, and with a daily and the long running duration he’ll probably be more visible in other entertainment contexts as well. He’s in the June edition of Sure Magazine sporting what I would call the “quirky dork” look. A bit of the boyish nerd crossed with a sartorial hipster vibe, though the clothes are mostly hideous he looks stylin’ wearing it. I love that Im Joo Hwan always has this bit of melancholy sensitivity you can see in his eyes. He manages to channel it masterfully whether he’s playing downtrodden characters or successful arrogant snobs. I worried a bit that some of the just returning from military service leading men might have too much competition with the rising young stars but with the advent of cable networks these last few years and the great (albeit inconsistent) quality coming from them, here’s to hoping Im Joo Hwan gets a nice meaty cable drama next.

Comments

Love him, wish he was more well known bc he certainly has the talent. I’ve heard good things about Ugly Alert, mostly great things about his performance but it’s not subbed anywhere as far as I know 🙁 Maybe he’ll do a Jung Kyung Ho and do a fantastic dark and twisted cable show next. I would love that!!

it always catches me off guard when i read that he or she got plastic surgery bc i never notice any difference. even with kim hyun joong, i’m like huh? he got a new nose, couldn’t even tell. i must be really bad with face recognition.

This mentions someone else getting plastic surgery, but I think Im Joo Hwan looks totally different from before his military service. Is it just that he gained weight, or has he had some work done, too?

This is my first daily so I don’t really know what to expect (and what kind of suck really sucks) but it is watchable. Like weekend family dramas, you got a large cast with at least 3 families/groups of people intertwined that nobody knows yet (we still are at ep 25 out of 120).

We are actually calling this drama ‘Forrest Gump goes to Seoul.’ Im Joo Hwan is doing great with his character Gong Junsu. I think it’s not a one man drama anchored on his shoulders but he is the strongest in acting out his
characters.Kang Sora is likeable even though

She sometimes have that stiff expression but that may be how her character is written. I am not appalled by her face change not as much as her chopstick legs that I suspect she did surgery. Because I watched her in We Got Married and her legs weren’t like that.

Oh well, since the drama doesn’t have subs, it’s a good drama to watch on the side. Or as a marathon 5 eps in one sitting. As for me, I do try to watch iy everyday to seee Im Joo Hwan.

UA is not so bad, given the 100 ep daily format. Im Joo Hwan is definitely anchoring the show with his truly into-it performances, though I think the rest of the actors (mostly the veterans) are also doing a good job.

I actually love UA. It’s not a one-man show with Kang Byul also pulling off a good performance as his step sister (hate her wig though) and darling HyunWoo of ILICDD is her love interest!! IJH is adorable as the innocent and child-like Kong Jun-su and his love-line with Kang So-ra is kinda cute. She’s not very impressive but not very offensive either. Aside from the requisite childhood segment, it’s been well-balanced with light and heavy beats per episode. But I think it’s getting more angsty now that he realizes his feelings for her…since he’s an ex-con. Sigh. Hope it doen’t turn YTBLSS on me.

Ahh, I keep forgetting my Hyunwoo is in it too. I really wanted to watch it because of the cast but after downloading 12 or so episodes and never actually starting it, I kinda gave up on it. I’m glad to see it’s not so bad ^^ Hopefully I can find the rest of full episodes somewhere

I’m addicted to Ugly Alert. This is my first ever daily drama and I never watch them because they tend to be dragy and boring.
But I’m not getting bored with UA. Of course I’m watching the show for IJH only and I admit that I skip some stories that doesn’t involve him for now.
IJH is putting his whole heart, soul and body in this character and it really shows. You think IJH was born to be JS. His scenes are so natural, heart warming and adorable. I don’t think there is anyone that is watching the show and not agreeing with me on this.
As for Kang Sora, never seen her in anything but she is watchable here and definitely not like some actresses that you feel like slapping them as soon as they’re on screen. I even see some chemistry between her and IJH and their scenes together are very cute. I love this OTP.